Partners News and Events

Partners for Strong Communities

Good News Archives

—Press release, May 18, 2010—
2010 Raleigh Crop Walk to be held Sat., Oct. 2

Raleigh, NC—"The 2010 CROP Hunger Walk committee has voted to add Partners for Strong Communities to its 2010 Benefiting Agency list," according to Maggie Castor, Director of Programs at Partners. "Walks will share almost $4 million with food banks, pantries, community gardens, and other local efforts across the U.S, so we are honored to have been chosen as a benefiting agency."
Mark your calendar to participate: Saturday, Oct. 2, 2010.
Each year, well over 2,000 communities across the U.S. join in more than 1,600 CROP Hunger Walks. More than five million CROP Hunger Walkers have participated in more than 36,000 CROP Hunger Walks in the last two decades alone. CROP Hunger Walks also help to support the overall ministry of Church World Service, especially grassroots, hunger-fighting development efforts around the world. Local CROP Hunger Walks return up to 25 percent of what their CROP Hunger Walk raises to hunger-fighting programs in their own community.
The Church World Service is an ecumenical ministry of 36 Christian denominations and communions working with partners to eradicate hunger and poverty and to promote peace and justice around the world. With its inception in 1969, CROP Hunger Walks are "viewed by many as the granddaddy of charity walks," notes the Los Angeles Times (Oct. 26, 2009).

Community Garden

Wendell, NC—In order to increase access to fresh local food in 2010, Partners is helping organize a new community garden in Wendell, NC. Maggie Castor, Director of Programs for Partners For Strong Communities is working together with The Social Ministry Group of St Eugene's Church on this effort. Church and community volunteers will donate their time, talent and resources in order to make the Garden a success. Most of the food that is harvested from the Garden will stay in the community to feed people who otherwise may not have access to fresh fruits and vegetables. Classes on basic nutrition and a program that will teach cutting edge agricultural skills are being planned as well.

—December 7, 2009—
"Feast with Friends"

Wendell, NC—Partners for Strong Communities, in an effort to raise awareness around hunger and obesity in our community, sponsored its first annual, "Feast with Friends" fundraising dinners. "We were excited to help organize this program, as individual hosts were encouraged to feature local foods at their respective dinner parties." according to Maggie Castor, Director of Food Programs. Hosts were responsible for gathering friends, family and work colleagues together to share a fun meal, and invited guests to make a donation. Proceeds from the dinners will help our community to grow and eat fresh, delicious, local foods and help people who are hungry. Donations raised between November 1st and 30th were doubled through a matching challenge from the Stewards Fund and directly benefited a local food shuttle.

—November 6th, 2009—
The "Veggie Lady" Mobile Nutrition Education Program

Nash County, NC—Partners for Strong Communities launched a Mobile Nutrition Education Program to help elementary school students understand the importance of eating their fruits and vegetables. Fourth-graders at Middlesex Elementary were treated to a visit by "The Veggie Lady," aka Maggie Castor, from Partners for Strong Communities. Maggie led the students in creating "vegetable super heroes," a fun and creative way to introduce children to a wide variety of vegetables. This concept is similar to the premise of the popular new ABC television series, Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. Maggie and Jamie both agree that many children today have trouble identifying a tomato on sight, and that is something that can be changed, one community school at a time.

Teacher comments: "Thanks for coming to my class and giving my students such a delightful lesson. The kids loved you. I will ask the other 4th grade teachers if they are interested in the Veggie People. It is such a great idea and you are such a natural teacher."
Mary LaCombe, 4th Grade teacher, Middlesex Elementary, Nash County, Nov 2009

—30% of children and Youth in North Carolina are overweight or obese.
—37% are not getting their recommended fruit servings.
—74% are not getting their vegetable servings.
—In 2007, approximately $4,000,000 (8% of the total spent on Nash County Medicaid) was attributed to overweight and obesity.
Partners will work with the local schools and the faith-based community to improve the health of our local youth by helping them make better food choices.

—September, 2009—
"Plant A Row for the Hungry" Campaign

Raleigh, NC—Gov. Perdue planted a row of collard greens at the Executive Mansion for the "Plant a Row for the Hungry" Campaign. Plant a Row (PAR) is a national campaign to encourage all gardeners to grow a little extra produce to donate to the hungry and homeless. Partners for Strong Communities, in conjunction with Pellegrino Farms in Middlesex, NC, contributed several hundred pounds of food to the PAR 2009 campaign.

—September 19, 2009—
Partners For Strong Communities volunteered their time and effort to help The International Food and Music Festival have yet another successful year.

This annual event raises funds for the church and the surrounding local community. Kelly Castor, President of Partners for Strong Communities, was the Master of Ceremonies. The festival celebrated its seventh year and has a great track record of success due to the hundreds of volunteer participants from both the church and local community.

Food Outreach Director, Maggie Castor, helped organize the First Annual "Unity" Canned Food Drive, which directly benefited the local community food pantry, with the help of the St. Eugene Social Ministry group and The Triangle Church Alliance, a group of interdenominational church members, who all banded together to contribute to the success of the food drive. Worldwide cuisine from 17 countries set up vendor booths in an effort to allow local participants the opportunity to sample international foods.

The event, which was held in downtown Wendell, NC, also showcased popular international and regional music talent, such as the jazz tunes of recording artist, The Adrian Duke Project and Blue Grass Band, Down River.

Local youth choirs and dance ensembles performed as well throughout the day-long event which was held from 11 am to 7 pm.

In addition to raissing thousands of dollars, the event also helped raise awareness to the growing problem of hunger in many of our local communities.

—June 19, 2009—
Partners for Strong Communities signs 3-year contract with the North Carolina Rural Center to support entrepreneurship in rural North Carolina.

The North Carolina Rural Center's Entrepreneurial Development System II (EDS II) is a program funded by the N.C. General Assembly. The program provided grants to hire coordinators in 2 five-county regions within North Carolina.

The coordinators, through grassroots efforts, are charged with building a regional coalition of businesses, local governments, non-profit agencies and school systems to bring a unified economic and social development initiative within their region. This initiative is designed to increase opportunities within the region to support thriving and vibrant local economies and ultimately an increased quality of life for all.

Partners for Strong Communities and Good Work, a non-profit organization located in Durham, N.C., work together to support the coordinators in their efforts. The contract runs through October of 2011. "We are excited about this opportunity. We've worked with John Parker at Good Work in the past on a variety of projects. It's exciting to work alongside him again and be a part of this important program." stated Kelly Castor, President of Partners for Strong Communities. "The coordinators chosen for each region are top-notch. They are committed, caring individuals and we know they will make great impact in their respective regions."

Footnote: The EDS II project started in October of 2008. It has already had much success. The coordinators have conducted or been a part of hundreds of programs that have resulted in new businesses starting, existing businesses getting training and funding to expand and have opened up new alliances across county lines.

—May 22, 2009—
Partners for Strong Communities conducts "A Day with an Entrepreneur" at Scotland County High School.

Laurinburg, NC. — Kelly Castor, President of Partners for Strong Communities, conducted our Youth Entrepreneurship Program, "A Day with an Entrepreneur," in an all-day session with students in the business school program of Scotland County High School. The program is designed to give students a chance to interact with an entrepreneur to learn more of what it means to be a business-owner on a daily basis.

The students gain perspective of real-world situations and life-lessons of running a business. After a brief presentation introducing key fundamentals of running a business and some powerful truths about communicating for effectiveness, Kelly attended a number of classes for a more personal question and answer session.

The students were very active with questions ranging from "how much money do you make?" to specifics about contracts and product pricing. It was a packed day and everyone was very involved. "Out of all the consulting I've done and the businesses I've been a part of or ran, this was one of the most rewarding days I've spent in a long, long time," stated Kelly Castor. "The kids and the teachers are incredible. I can't wait to do this again and also get other entrepreneur's doing it as well. Investing in the future with these young minds is time well-spent."

Footnote: Subsequent to this day, Partners for Strong Communities has developed a Youth Entrepreneurship program designed to coordinate with school curriculum and with local entrepreneurs willing to give back to their community. For more information, please contact Kelly Castor (kelly@partners101.org).

Be on the lookout for "The Veggie Lady." She's coming soon to a school near you!

The Veggie Lady, a.k.a. Maggie Castor, teaches kids the basics of nutrition, cooking, and healthy eating. To make nutrition information relevant and fun to children, she emphasizes the role of hands on learning. The Veggie Lady's top priority is to introduce children to the importance of fruits and vegetables in their diet and to encourage them to eat more fruits and vegetables each day. Contact Maggie Castor to schedule a visit to your school. maggiecastor@partners101.org